Scottish Executive

Ambulance Service

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive on how many days wind speeds rose above 39 miles per hour in (a) Lerwick, (b) Kirkwall, (c) Wick, (d) Stornoway, (e) Barra, (f) Islay, (g) Inverness and (h) Glasgow in each of the last four years.

Mr Andy Kerr: The information is not readily available for all those locations in the format requested.

  The information on the number of days where the mean wind speeds exceeded 39 miles per hour is set out in the table and has been obtained from the Met Office:

  

Location
2000
2001
2002
2003


Lerwick
48 
35 
36 
31 


Kirkwall1
48 
5 
---
---


Wick
See next table
---
---
---


Stornoway1
32 
14 
16 
---


Barra
See next table
---
---
---


Islay1,2
37
8 
---
---


Inverness3
6 
4 
2 
6 


Glasgow
See next table
---
---
---



  Notes:

  1. No longer readily available from 2002 (Kirkwall and Islay) and 2003 (Stornoway).

  2. This information relates to Tiree, the nearest weather station to Islay.

  3. This information relates to Kinloss, the nearest weather station to Inverness.

  The information for Wick, Barra and Glasgow is recorded on an hourly rather than a daily basis and is therefore not comparable to the previous table. The number of readings in the last four years where the wind speed exceeded 39 miles per hours is as follows:

  

 
2000
2001
2002
2003


Wick
36
3
6
9


Barra
162
84
197
178


Glasgow
0
0
3
1



  Winds in excess of 39 miles per hour are classified by the Met Office as gale force. Winds of such force are, however, not necessarily critical to the ability of aircraft to take off or land. Other factors such as the type of aircraft and wind direction are also relevant. While for example a gale force cross wind would prevent a fixed-wing aircraft from talking off or landing, helicopters, such as those available under the arrangements with the Air Ambulance Service preferred provider, would not be so affected by such winds. If the weather conditions were of such severity to prevent the contracted air ambulance aircraft from flying, the ambulance service will call upon the services of the Coastguard or the Ministry of Defence.

Ambulance Service

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the total budget was for air ambulance services covering (a) the Highlands, (b) Orkney, (c) Shetland and (d) the Western Isles in each of the last four years.

Mr Andy Kerr: The Scottish Ambulance Service sets the budget for air ambulance services across Scotland from the revenue allocation it receives from Scottish Executive Health Department. The direct costs budget for the last four years was:

  

2000-01
£5.1 Million


2001-02
£6.1 Million


2002-03
£6.3 Million


2003-04
£6.3 Million

Ambulance Service

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many days (a) Sumburgh, (b) Kirkwall, (c) Wick, (d) Stornoway, (e) Benbecula, (f) Barra, (g) Inverness, (h) Aberdeen and (i) Glasgow airport has been closed due to fog in each year since 2000.

Mr Andy Kerr: There have been no days when these airports have been closed due to fog since 2000. If the closure of an airport affected air ambulance services, then the Scottish Ambulance Service would consider calling upon the services of the Coastguard or the Ministry of Defence.

Autism

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what input it has requested from educators or educational institutions in respect of development work being carried out on the creation of a postgraduate qualification and Scottish Vocational Qualification for those working with people with autistic spectrum disorder.

Rhona Brankin: The Scottish Executive works with a variety of educators in developing appropriate training at all levels for those who provide services for people with autistic spectrum disorders. The Executive has provided funding for:

  the Scottish Social Services Council, to develop autistic spectrum disorder specific modules in Scottish Vocational Qualification levels 3 and 4 for social care staff;

  NHS Education for Scotland, to develop training for primary care staff, particularly general practitioners and front line nurses, and

  the National Centre for Autism Studies at the University of Strathclyde, to raise awareness of senior managers across education, social and health care.

Climate Change

Frances Curran (West of Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it has taken to ensure that Scotland will make an equitable contribution to addressing climate change and what further steps it will take prior to the G8 Summit at Gleneagles.

Ross Finnie: Measures through which the Executive is delivering an equitable contribution to the UK’s Kyoto target and the UK Government’s domestic climate change objectives are contained in the Executive’s Scottish Climate Change Programme , a copy of which is available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 9893) and also on the Executive’s climate change website at:

  www.scotland.gov.uk/climatechange.

  A formal review of this programme is underway and, following a public consultation, an updated Scottish Programme will be published in the first half of 2005.

Climate Change

Frances Curran (West of Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive why targets on climate change no longer appear in its Annual Expenditure Report.

Ross Finnie: Draft Budget 2004-05  contained an objective "A clean and safe environment, tackling climate change and complying with domestic, EU and international standards". A number of key targets across different portfolios are contributing to the achievement of this objective .  Our wider climate change objective remains and the Annual Evaluation Report (formerly the Annual Expenditure Report) 2005-06 sets out progress towards the targets in Draft Budget 2004-05,  that are contributing to the wider objective.

Climate Change

Frances Curran (West of Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the answer by the team leader of the Finance, Environment and Rural Affairs section of its Finance and Central Services Department to the Environment and Rural Development Committee on 21 April 2004 that "we spend relatively little programme money on the issue of climate change" ( Official Report c 975), what level of programme money is spent on climate change; what criteria are used to determine funding levels; which department or individual is responsible for the spending decisions, and how this spending level is compatible with the Executive’s commitment to address climate change.

Ross Finnie: The Executive is addressing climate change through its Scottish Climate Change Programme (SCCP). The policies in the SCCP cut across a number of different policy areas and, whilst the main driver of each policy may not necessarily be climate change, all will deliver greenhouse gas emissions reductions. For example, in the transport budget there has been a significant shift in the relevant proportion of departmental spending directed to public transport such that it will make up 70% of transport spending over the period of our ten year investment plan. Given that climate change is but one of the benefits arising from such expenditure programmes, it is not possible to identify a specific climate change component.

  As part of the Spending Review, the Executive looked at the performance of all portfolios in delivering sustainable development, of which climate change is a key element, and their plans for taking it forward in their work over the next three years.

Community Care

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-12043 by Malcolm Chisholm on 4 January 2001, how many people in each local authority area received meals on wheels in each year since 1999.

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive which local authorities no longer provide a meals on wheels service and have opted for a frozen food option and how many people received such an option in each local authority area in each year since 1999.

Rhona Brankin: This information is not held centrally.

Culture

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to capitalise and build upon the world city of literature status awarded to Edinburgh and what funds have been (a) earmarked for this purpose and (b) allocated to relevant organisations.

Ms Patricia Ferguson: The Scottish Executive welcomes Edinburgh’s success in being granted the title: City of Literature in the UNESCO Creative Cities Global Alliance. The Edinburgh World City of Literature project aims to work with UNESCO to identify potential partner cities in the developed and developing world. Through a network of world cities of literature, Edinburgh will set out to promote international exchange between writers, readers, literature organisations and publishers. Scotland will benefit from these exchanges in the resulting higher profile for Scottish literature and the potential increase in cultural tourism. In addition, the project aims to provide a focus and co-ordination for literary activity, to encourage greater participation at all levels of Scottish society, and to attract new initiatives to Scotland.

  The Scottish Executive has awarded the project £20,000, but, as yet, no decision has been taken on future funding.

  The UK Delegation to UNESCO is discussing a possible contribution of up to £50,000 to UNESCO's new Creative Cities Fund, to enable developing countries to benefit from Edinburgh's initiative.

Dentistry

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many dentists are currently employed in the NHS Fife board area and how many it is estimated are required to carry out a safe and effective level of service.

Rhona Brankin: Information on the number of dentists is collected via the annual census, on 30 September, the latest of which is correct at 30 September 2003. On this date, there were 36 dentists employed in community and hospital dental services and 131 general dentists in NHS Fife.

  It is the responsibility of individual NHS boards to ensure safe and effective services are provided within their geographical area.

Dentistry

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many dentists were employed in the NHS Fife board area in each year from 1999-2000 to 2003-04.

Rhona Brankin: The following table provides a breakdown at 30 September of each year of the number of dentists employed in both the Community and Hospital Dental Services and the General Dental Services in NHS Fife.

  Dentists in the Fife NHS Board Area (Headcount); at 30 September

  

Year
Community and Hospital Dental Services1
General Dental Services2
All Dental Services


1999
36
126
162


2000
36
131
167


2001
39
134
173


2002
37
137
174


2003
36
131
167



  Sources – from ISD Scotland.

  MEDMAN (Medical & Dental Workforce Census).

  MIDAS (Management Information & Dental Accounting System).

  Notes:

  1. Comprises all community and hospital dental grades.

  2. Comprises non-salaried and salaried principals, assistants and vocational trainees.

Dentistry

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what specific proposals it has to increase the number of dentists currently available in Fife.

Rhona Brankin: Responsibility for the overall provision of NHS dental services in an area rests with the NHS board. When an NHS board considers that the existing general dental service provision is insufficient to meet the demands of the local population, and no independent general dental practitioner is available to fill the gap, approval can be sought from Scottish ministers to appoint salaried dentists.

  Currently, workforce planning arrangements are being developed at local, regional and national levels. Individual NHS boards are reviewing and identifying the way in which local health services, such as dentistry, are provided. The staffing implications of these reviews will be factored into these mechanisms.

Dentistry

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the location is of all the dental practices in (a) Fife and (b) Forth Valley.

Rhona Brankin: This is a local matter and NHS Fife and Forth Valley would have the most up-to-date information and therefore be in the best position to respond for their respective areas.

Diabetes

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost of treating diabetes and its effects was in (a) 2000, (b) 2001, (c) 2002 and (d) 2003, expressed also as a percentage of the total NHS budget in each year.

Mr Andy Kerr: This information is not held centrally. However, the Scottish Diabetes Framework (April 2002) included an estimate that diabetes accounts for about 5% of NHS costs. It also outlined the difficulty of producing a more accurate figure.

Education

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any plans to centralise Learning and Teaching Scotland to its Glasgow office.

Peter Peacock: There are no plans to centralise Learning and Teaching Scotland to its Glasgow office.

  The current lease on the Dundee office from Dundee University expires in July 2005 and discussions are taking place with the Scottish Executive Land and Property Division, Dundee City Council and developers to identify alternative suitable sites in Dundee.

Education

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what Scottish literature is promoted and used within the school curriculum for (a) English and (b) other studies; what mandatory study of Scottish literature there is in the school curriculum, and what minimum knowledge of Scottish literature is required for children completing their education in Scottish schools.

Peter Peacock: The national Curriculum Guidelines 5-14, for English language currently advise that Scottish texts should be actively sought and used in classrooms, the aim being to foster a sense of personal and national identity through pupils' experience and study of Scots writing and Scots songs and through their conscious awareness and use of Scots language. The guidelines for Social Subjects (History), Expressive Arts and Personal and Social Development stress the importance of maintaining a focus on the Scottish context

  There is, however, no statutory curriculum in Scotland and responsibility for the delivery and content of the curriculum rests with individual education authorities and headteachers who must assess the needs of their pupils and design an appropriate curriculum. This includes the extent to which Scottish literature is included in the curriculum.

European Languages

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has from census records, or other sources, on the number of people working in Scotland who are fluent in a European language, broken down by (a) language and (b) job category.

Tavish Scott: This information is neither available from census records, nor from any other source held by the Scottish Executive.

Fertility Treatment

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether excluding women from fertility treatment at the age of 38 is in accordance with Article 12 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the waiting times for fertility treatment are in accordance with Article 12 of the European Convention on Human Rights in light of the fact that this can exclude many women due to the age barrier of 38.

Mr Andy Kerr: The clinical criteria for accessing NHS funded infertility treatment, such as the female upper age limit, was developed by the Expert Advisory Group on Infertility Services in Scotland (EAGISS 2000) using the best available evidence, at the time, for clinical effectiveness of the treatment.

  Article 12 of the European Convention on Human Rights does not impose a positive obligation on states to provide fertility treatment. Therefore any clinical criteria for accessing infertility services in Scotland, is in accordance with the Convention.

Hospital-Acquired Infection

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to National Progress Report - September 2004, Healthcare Associated Infection (HAI); Infection Control in NHSScotland , what information on infection rates in hospitals will be made available to the public.

Mr Andy Kerr: A national mandatory hospital surveillance system was introduced in 2001 to monitor MRSA blood infections and extended to include selected surgical site infections. The results are published quarterly by the Scottish Centre for Infection and Environmental Health (see www.show.scot.nhs.uk/scieh/ ).

Hospital-Acquired Infection

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to National Progress Report - September 2004, Healthcare Associated Infection (HAI); Infection Control in NHSScotland , when the work and outcomes of the Scottish Ministerial Healthcare Associated Infection Task Force will be published.

Mr Andy Kerr: Since the Ministerial Healthcare Associated Infection (HAI) Task Force was established in January 2003, its wide-ranging programme of work has resulted in many outputs being published in 2003 and 2004: the NHSScotland Code of Practice for the management of HAI and hygiene; the NHSScotland National Cleaning Services Specification; a national framework for mandatory induction training on HAI and guidance on media handling during incidents and outbreaks. The continuing work of the HAI Task Force will lead to the publication of further outcomes before the completion of its work plan by December 2005.

Hospital-Acquired Infection

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to National Progress Report - September 2004, Healthcare Associated Infection (HAI); Infection Control in NHSScotland , which NHS boards and operating divisions do not demonstrate compliance with hand hygiene policy.

Mr Andy Kerr: NHS Quality Improvement Scotland (NHS QIS) is reviewing the self-assessment information provided by NHS boards for the national progress report. This will identify the extent to which NHS boards and operating divisions have achieved compliance with the declared standards for hand hygiene. NHS QIS plans to publish a national overview and local update reports in May 2005.

Housing

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will monitor the single survey scheme and how it will improve the scheme and ensure sufficient uptake of single surveys.

Malcolm Chisholm: The progress of the Single Survey Pilot is being monitored by the project team through the collection of data on the numbers of surveys commissioned and of feedback from housing market professionals and consumers. The team will continue to promote the pilot and encourage consumers to participate. The pilot will be the subject of an evaluation to examine whether the single survey is workable in practice, to assess professional and consumer opinion and to inform future policy.

Housing

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to address the system of house buying and selling; whether it is aware of any problems with the system and, if so, what these problems are.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Housing Improvement Task Force reported in 2003 on policy issues concerning the quality of private sector housing stock in Scotland. That report identified that although the Scottish house buying and selling system has a number of strengths, there were nevertheless a number of ways it could be enhanced, particularly in relation to incentives for property maintenance. The task force recommended that the Scottish Executive pilot a single survey system for buying and selling that would give potential buyers better information on house condition and encourage greater attention to that aspect of ownership. That pilot is in progress. It aims also to test whether the single survey is an appropriate means of addressing the problems of so-called "multiple surveys" that are a feature of some market areas and whether the inclusion of a valuation within the single survey will act to discourage the setting of misleadingly low upset prices that can be frustrating for house buyers.

  The proposed housing bill would include powers for ministers to make the provision by sellers of the single survey and any additionally defined information mandatory, should this be deemed appropriate in the light of the pilot.

  The task force also considered issues around blind bidding and the setting of closing dates, but concluded that action to enforce alternatives to these conventions would be heavy-handed and out of proportion to the problems identified. The Executive accepted these conclusions and has no plans to introduce mandatory alternatives such as open auctions or fixed prices.

Justice

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many deaths in custody there were in each of the last 10 years broken down by prison and indicating where these were challenged at the inquest and how many such challenges were successful.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  The following table breaks down the number of deaths in custody in the last 10 years by establishment. A fatal accident inquiry is held to each death in custody. The further information requested is not available.

  

 
1994-95
1995-96
1996-97
1997-98
1998-99
1999-2000
2000-01
2001-02
2002-03
2003-04
Total


Aberdeen
0
0
2
1
1
1
0
1
2
0
8


Barlinnie
7
2
8
3
6
6
6
4
3
1
46


Castle Huntly
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0


Cornton Vale
0
3
3
1
1
0
0
2
2
0
12


Dumfries
1
0
0
1
0
1
0
0
0
1
4


Dungavel
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
-
-
-
1


Edinburgh
4
4
1
3
3
2
5
1
2
2
27


Glenochil
0
0
0
1
1
1
1
2
1
1
8


Greenock
3
2
5
3
3
3
1
1
1
0
22


Inverness
0
0
1
0
0
0
1
0
0
1
3


Kilmarnock
-
-
-
0
0
1
2
4
3
2
12


Longriggend
2
1
1
1
1
0
0
-
-
-
6


Low Moss
0
0
0
0
1
2
0
0
0
0
3


Noranside
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0


Penninghame
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
-
-
-
0


Perth
7
2
4
1
3
4
0
1
1
7
30


Peterhead
0
2
1
0
1
3
0
0
1
3
11


Polmont
0
0
0
2
0
0
0
1
0
0
3


Shotts
0
1
1
2
0
2
0
1
0
1
8


Total
25
17
27
19
21
26
16
18
16
19
204

Justice

Mr John Swinney (North Tayside) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to instruct the Scottish Solicitors’ Discipline Tribunal (SSDT) to make available the transcribed notes of the proceedings of a hearing by the SSDT if requested to by a party with an interest in the case.

Hugh Henry: The SSDT is an independent statutory body whose constitution, procedure and powers are set out in schedule 4 to the Solicitors (Scotland) Act 1980. As an independent body, the tribunal is responsible for its own proceedings and Scottish Ministers have no powers to instruct the tribunal.

Justice

Mr John Swinney (North Tayside) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it would take if an individual who holds a judicial appointment as a sheriff was found, as a result of an investigation by the Scottish Legal Services Ombudsman, to have breached section 8 of the Code of Conduct for Solicitors.

Cathy Jamieson: There is no such case before ministers at present. If allegations of misconduct were to arise I would consider the facts of the case before deciding whether to order any form of investigation into fitness for office.

Justice

Mr John Swinney (North Tayside) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is satisfied that the Master Policy for Professional Indemnity insurance of the Law Society of Scotland protects the interests of consumers.

Hugh Henry: The Master Policy protects the interests of consumers by providing professional indemnity insurance for Scottish solicitors against claims of negligence and claims arising out of any alleged dishonest, fraudulent, criminal or malicious act or omission.

  Some aspects of the master policy are under review at present. In the report of its inquiry into regulation of the legal profession, the former Justice 1 Committee expressed concern about delays reported by some complainers in receiving a settlement from the master policy. The committee recommended that the Scottish Executive should examine ways in which the master policy could be made subject to external regulation. We will issue a public consultation paper at the end of the year on the follow up to the committee’s report. The master policy is also currently the subject of a competition investigation by the Office of Fair Trading.

Justice

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to appoint an inspectorate for the judiciary; if not, how it intends to monitor the performance of judges and sheriffs, and what the reasons are for its position on the matter.

Cathy Jamieson: There are no plans to appoint an Inspectorate for the judiciary.

Justice

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-10861 by Cathy Jamieson on 8 October 2004, how many of the safeguarders referred to have been instructed in the last (a) year and (b) two years and whether safeguarders are withdrawn from Sheriff Clerks’ lists if they are no longer carrying out their responsibilities.

Cathy Jamieson: The information requested is not held centrally by Scottish Court Service. The list of safeguarders maintained by Sheriff Clerks derives from the panel of safeguarders maintained by local authorities under the Children (Scotland) Act 1995.

Justice

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it received the Scottish Law Commission report, Title to Sue for Non-Patrimonial Loss ; what action it has taken in relation to the report; what proposals it has to implement it, and what the reasons are for its position on the matter.

Hugh Henry: The Scottish Law Commission Report on Title to Sue for Non-Patrimonial Loss (SLC 187 ) was published on 8 August 2002. It made a number of recommendations for changes to the categories of persons who are able to sue for non-patrimonial loss.

  Recommendation 10 of the Report was that the Damages (Scotland) Act 1976 should be amended to provide that:

  "(a) any person who, immediately before the deceased's death, was the same-sex cohabitant of the deceased should be entitled to sue for patrimonial and non-patrimonial loss; and

  (b) "same-sex cohabitant" (for the purposes of title to sue for non-patrimonial and patrimonial loss) should mean any person who was living with the deceased in a relationship which had the characteristics, other than that the persons are of the opposite sex, of the relationship between husband and wife."

  The Scottish Executive has agreed that this recommendation should be implemented and that is being done through provisions contained in Schedule 28, Part 4 of the Civil Partnership Bill which is presently before the United Kingdom Parliament.

  The other recommendations for change contained in the report are still under consideration, and no decisions have yet been taken as to their implementation.

Learning Disabilities

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-10225 by Mr Tom McCabe on 29 September 2004, where each person with learning disabilities currently resides, broken down by hospital.

Rhona Brankin: Information from NHS boards on the number of people with learning disabilities living in long-stay hospitals is in the following table (as at September 2004):

  

NHS Board
NHS Facility
Number of Long-Stay Patients


Ayrshire and Arran
Strathlea Resource Centre (25); Arrol Park Resource Centre (43); Alisa Hospital (8)
76


Argyll and Clyde
Merchiston Hospital 
36


Dumfries and Galloway
NLDU (12); Darataigh Hospital (3); Kerrera Hospital (6)
21


Fife 
Lynebank Hospital 
49


Grampian
Campbell Hospital 
8


Highland 
New Craigs Hospital
39


Lanarkshire
Kirklands Hospital 
49


Lothian
Murraypark Hospital 
17


Tayside
Bridgefoot Hospital 
24


 
319

Less Favoured Areas

Eleanor Scott (Highlands and Islands) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will ensure that new less favoured areas regulations will provide sufficient support to enable agriculture to remain viable in the most deprived areas of Scotland.

Ross Finnie: The provisions for continuing support for less favoured areas (LFA) for the period 2007-13 are included in the new Rural Development Regulation. Discussions on a draft of this Regulation have started in Brussels and we are closely involved with these. One of our key aims is to ensure continuing provision for LFA support to allow us to maintain sustainable and viable agriculture in these areas.

Local Authority Expenditure

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many direct payments have been made for children’s services, broken down by local authority area in (a) 2002-03 and (b) 2003-04.

Rhona Brankin: Children’s services became eligible for direct payments in June 2003. The number of parents of children with disabilities receiving direct payments between June 2003 and the end of March 2004 is given in the following table:

  Direct Payments Clients Aged 0-15 years by Local Authority, 2003-04

  

Local Authority
Total Number of Clients
0-15 Years


Aberdeen City
10


Argyll and Bute
2


East Ayrshire
1


Highland
2


North Lanarkshire
2


Stirling
1


West Dunbartonshire
1


Scotland
19



  Source: SEHD annual survey of direct payments.

Local Government Finance

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how much each local authority will receive through the specific training grant for each of the next five years.

Euan Robson: Indicative specific training grant funding to local authorities for the financial years 2004-05, 2005-06 and 2006-07 is as follows:

  

 
£000


Aberdeen City
225


Aberdeenshire
168


Angus
116


Argyll and Bute
116


Clackmannanshire
61


Dumfries and Galloway
116


Dundee City
168


East Ayrshire
116


East Dunbartonshire
61


East Lothian
116


East Renfrewshire
61


Edinburgh
500


Eilean Siar
61


Falkirk
168


Fife
332


Glasgow
940


Highland
225


Inverclyde
116


Midlothian
61


Moray
61


North Ayrshire
168


North Lanarkshire
332


Orkney Islands
61


Perthshire and Kinross
116


Renfrewshire
168


Scottish Borders
116


Shetland Islands
61


South Ayrshire
116


South Lanarkshire
281


Stirling
61


West Dunbartonshire
116


West Lothian
116

NHS Staff

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many consultants are suspended across Scotland and for how long they have been suspended.

Mr Andy Kerr: This information is not held centrally.

NHS Staff

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many consultant vacancies there are within district general hospitals, broken down by hospital.

Mr Andy Kerr: The specific information requested is not centrally available.

  ISD Scotland collects consultant vacancy information at NHS board level and this can be found at:

  www.isdscotland.org/workforce.

NHS Staff

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many general surgeons are employed in the NHS.

Mr Andy Kerr: Information on staff in post in NHS Scotland is published on the Scottish Health Statistics website under Workforce Statistics, at www.isdscotland.org/workforce .

  Details on consultants by specialty are given in tables B6 and B7 of section B.

  The latest available data is correct to 30 September 2003, when there were 202.7 whole-time equivalent consultants within General Surgery in post.

NHS Staff

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many vacancies there are for general surgeons in the NHS.

Mr Andy Kerr: Information on staff in post in NHS Scotland is published on the Scottish Health Statistics website under Workforce Statistics, at www.isdscotland.org/workforce .

  Details on consultant vacancies by specialty are given in tables B11 and B12 of section B.

  At 30 September 2003, there were 14 whole-time equivalent consultant vacancies in General Surgery in NHS Scotland. The vacancy rate, expressed as a percentage of the establishment, was 6.5% just under the national equivalent average of 6.7%.

NHS Staff

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many general surgeons were trained in each of the last five years.

Mr Andy Kerr: The route to being able to apply for consultant posts within General Surgery is through attainment of the Certificate of Completion of Specialist Training (CCST) by Specialist Registrars (SpRs).

  NHS Education for Scotland are responsible for overseeing the management of the training programmes. The table below provides a breakdown, by postgraduate deanery, of the number of SpRs who have completed their training.

  Number of Trainees Completing Training in Scotland (i.e. Certificate of Completion of Specialist Training) - 1 October 1999 - 30 September 2004

  

Specialty
Date CCST Awarded


01.10.99 to 30.09.2000
01.10.2000 to 30.09.2001
01.10.2001 to 30.09.2002
01.10.2002 to 30.09.2003
01.10.2003 to 
30.09.04
Overall Total


General Surgery
 
 
 
 
 


East
0
0
0
3
2


North
4
2
2
0
4


S East
1
3
4
3
5


West
0
6
5
8
3


Total
5
11
11
14
14
55



  Source: NHS Education for Scotland.

NHS Staff

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many consultant obstetricians are employed within the NHS.

Mr Andy Kerr: Information on staff in post in NHS Scotland is published on the Scottish Health Statistics website under Workforce Statistics, at www.isdscotland.org/workforce . Details on consultants by speciality are given in tables B6 and B7 of section B. Latest available figures are at 30 September 2003 when there were 147.3 whole-time equivalent consultants within Obstetrics and Gynaecology.

NHS Staff

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many vacancies there are for consultant obstetricians within the NHS.

Mr Andy Kerr: At 30 September 2003, there were 10 whole-time equivalent consultant vacancies in obstetrics and gynaecology in NHS Scotland. The vacancy rate, expressed as a percentage of the establishment, is 6.4% just under the national equivalent average of 6.7%.

NHS Staff

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what procedures are in place to assure patients that all podiatrists are trained, qualified and fit to practice.

Mr Andy Kerr: Since July 2003, podiatry is a protected title. This means that all podiatrists must have undergone the minimum of a three-year undergraduate degree programme or an honours degree. Successful completion of the education programmes leads to registration by the Health Professions Council (HPC). The HPC is an independent, UK wide regulatory body responsible for setting and maintaining standards of professional training, performance and conduct of the professions it regulates. Registration is also a condition of employment. It is an offence to practice as a podiatrist while unregistered and anyone who does is subject to prosecution. The education programmes are quality assured by the Quality Assurance Agency to make sure that graduates are fit to practice.

  Non-registered professionals who have used the now protected title prior to July 2003 must undergo a "grandparenting" process. This means that they must have been engaged in the lawful, safe and effective practice in the profession they wish to be registered in for a period of three out of the last five years. If they fall short of this they must demonstrate that they have undergone additional training and experience that satisfies the HPC that they have the requisite standard of proficiency for admission to the register.

NHS Staff

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the treatment fee per patient is for private podiatry practitioners who undertake work on behalf of the NHS.

Mr Andy Kerr: The Scottish Executive does not set these fees centrally. It is for NHS boards to agree fees locally with individual practitioners.

National Health Service

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the daily cost is of keeping a long-stay patient in an acute hospital bed.

Rhona Brankin: Data is not held centrally that would differentiate the daily cost of a long-stay patient from that of a short-stay patient in an acute bed. For financial year 2002-03, the national average cost per day of an acute surgical inpatient was £462, an acute medical inpatient was £280 and a geriatric long-stay patient was £142. Further information on hospital running costs is available in the annual Scottish Health Service Costs publication, which can be found at:

  http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/info3.jsp?pContentID=2574&p_applic=CCC&p_service=Content.show&

National Health Service

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to National Progress Report - September 2004, Healthcare Associated Infection (HAI); Infection Control in NHSScotland, which NHS boards need to clarify responsibility and accountability relating to healthcare associated infections.

Mr Andy Kerr: NHS Quality Improvement Scotland is reviewing the self-assessment information provided by NHS boards for the national progress report. This will identify the extent to which NHS boards and operating divisions have achieved compliance with the declared standard for responsibility and accountability relating to healthcare associated infections. NHS QIS plans to publish a national overview and local update reports in May 2005.

Prison Service

Margaret Jamieson (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when enhanced drug transition services will be introduced in all prisons.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  We plan to introduce new arrangements for addiction services from July 2005.

Prison Service

Margaret Jamieson (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the outcomes will be of enhanced drug transition services and how these will be measured and audited.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:

  The Invitation to Tender for Enhanced Addictions Casework Service is currently out to tender. The contract will commence in July 2005. The aims of an Enhanced Addiction Casework Service are to:

  Encourage current and former substance misusing prisoners to access addictions treatment in prison;

  Provide addictions assessment relevant to the needs of the population and the substance of misuse;

  Include prisoners in devising and agreeing their individualised care plan;

  Give prisoners access to a relevant range of interventions (treatment and care activities) dependent on their sentence length;

  Emphasis the importance of consistency and continuity of care, both in and out of prison setting including the transitional care period, and

  To minimise the dangers of reduced tolerance levels on release from prison.

  An intervention monitoring system is in the process of being developed. This will enable reporting of key performance outcomes on a monthly basis. This will be monitored locally by addictions co-ordinators at establishment level and nationally by a contracts manager based within the Rehabilitation & Care Directorate at SPS HQ. The views of service users will also be evidenced through qualitative audit systems.

Prison Service

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the pension rights will be of new prison officers at any new build prison on the Low Moss site.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  The pension rights of the staff employed at the new prison will be a matter for the relevant employer.

Prison Service

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what land acreage was available to the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) on the site of HM Prison Low Moss; what the acreage is of the existing site development at Low Moss; what consideration has been given to a new build prison on SPS-owned land adjacent to the site, and what the reasons are for its position on the matter.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  The Scottish Prison Service site is about 15 hectares of which the existing prison occupies about one third.

  The SPS-owned land adjacent to the existing prison was considered to be too small for the proposed new prison. The site needs to be used to create the most effective establishment operationally so that value for money is maximised. The SPS consider that this needs to include the part already occupied.

Rural Development

Eleanor Scott (Highlands and Islands) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has the power to change the way in which single farm payments are calculated in Scotland.

Ross Finnie: Any change to the Single Farm Payment regime would require agreement by the EU Council of Ministers. The system will be reviewed at EU level, at the latest, by 2009.

Rural Development

Eleanor Scott (Highlands and Islands) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what the total agricultural subsidy payments in Scotland will be in 2004, broken down into Pillar 1 and Pillar 2.

Ross Finnie: Outturn figures for the year 2004 will not be known for some time yet as claims are still being processed and payments are ongoing. We expect to pay around £404 million for Pillar 1 schemes and £101 million for Pillar 2 schemes. Figures for 2003 were published in the Annual Report The Administration of Common Agricultural Policy Schemes in Scotland , available on the Scottish Executive website.

Rural Development

Eleanor Scott (Highlands and Islands) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what advice its Environment and Rural Affairs Department (SEERAD) is giving to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) in respect of the UK negotiating position on the European Council’s draft rural development regulation.

Ross Finnie: We are working closely with Defra and the other UK administrations in developing the UK negotiating position on the European draft Rural Development Regulation for 2007-13. Scottish ministers have made their initial views known and SEERAD officials interact regularly with Defra and, on an ad hoc basis, directly with the European Commission. On 9 September, SEERAD launched an online consultation on the draft Regulation and views expressed by stakeholders are being fed into discussions on the UK negotiating position. SEERAD and Scottish farming, forestry and environmental stakeholders participate in the Defra working group on the Rural Development Regulation.

Scottish Executive Publications

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the total annual value is of work carried out for it and its agencies by The Stationery Office (TSO), broken down by contract, and whether it has any powers of direction over TSO and, if so, what these are.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Scottish Executive and its agencies spent £152,534 on acquiring official publications from January 2003 to October 2004, and £452,128 on sale and distribution services of publications from June 2001 to October 2004.

  The Scottish Executive does not have any powers of direction over TSO.

Scottish Executive Staff

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many appointments were made following the recruitment campaign for policy analysts referred to in news release SENWO46/2002 on 18 June 2002 broken down by (a) gender and (b) ethnic origin and what proportion of such appointees have professional qualifications in (i) information technology, (ii) finance, (iii) human resource management and (iv) procurement, broken down by (1) grade and (2) pay scale.

Tom McCabe: The information requested is detailed in the following table

  Policy Analyst Appointees (June 2002 Competition)

  

No. of Appointments
Male
Female
Ethnic Origin


35
18
17
*



  *In order to preserve confidentiality this information cannot be published separately.

  1. One of the appointees has a professional finance qualification.

  2. All appointees were recruited at C1 (Policy Analyst) level within the pay scale for that band and salary range.

Smoking

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of patients in residential psychiatric care facilities are smokers.

Rhona Brankin: This information is not held centrally.

Smoking

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people quit smoking in each year since 1999, broken down by deprivation category.

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many community centres offer smoking cessation services, broken down by (a) local authority area and (b) deprivation category.

Rhona Brankin: This information is not currently held centrally. However, steps are being taken to establish a national data base for Scottish smoking cessation services which will mean that information on uptake of services and quit rates at national level and for different localities throughout Scotland with a breakdown of different sub-sections of the community (e.g. by gender, age, ethnicity, and socio-economic group) will be available from 2005.

Social Work

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will continue to fund the social work incentive scheme.

Euan Robson: We have committed to providing one more year of funding for the incentive scheme. The scheme will be evaluated and the results of this will feed into policy considerations on workforce development generally. The future of the incentive scheme will be part of this consideration.

Social Work

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what the expenditure on training for social workers was in each local authority in each of the last five years and what information it has on how these figures compare with equivalent expenditure in English and Welsh local authorities.

Euan Robson: This information is not held centrally.

Voluntary Sector

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with Camelot, the operator of the National Lottery, regarding funding opportunities for social care providers in Scotland.

Euan Robson: Although Camelot is responsible for raising the funds for good causes it is not responsible for the allocation of grants - this is a matter for the individual lottery distributors.

Voluntary Sector

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what the projected budget allocation is for the Voluntary Sector Development Fund for each of the next five years.

Euan Robson: £1 million per annum has been allocated to the Voluntary Sector Development Fund (VSDF) for three financial years completing in March 2006.

  No decision has been made about future funding beyond 2006 for the VSDF.

Voluntary Sector

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how it monitors the benefit to private and voluntary sector partners of the specific training grant scheme.

Euan Robson: Annual returns on the use of the specific grant by local authorities are made to Social Work Services Policy Division. These returns ask local authorities to identify any training funded by the specific grant for voluntary and private sectors.

Correction

The reply to question S2W-11129, which was originally answered on 28 October 2004, has been corrected: see page 3510 or http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/pqa/wa-04/wa1111.htm.